Home remedies for a persistent cough

Flu season hit hard this year, and the normal, if unwelcome, after effect of many viral upper respiratory infections is a lingering cough.

A recent review of the medical literature found that, on average, a cough will last 17.8 days! Fortunately, most coughs are self limiting; that is, they will get better without special treatment, such as antibiotics.

Look for a few simple, inexpensive ingredients

Flu season is still raging across the country.

Most cases don’t require a trip to the emergency room or even the doctor. But there are a few over-the-counter (OTC) flu medicines that can help treat the most common symptoms: fever, headache, sore throat, muscle pain and cough.

You don’t need to spend a lot of money, and these products can be used for … read on

What’s in your chocolate?

I’ve been in the dark about chocolate!

I just received a newsletter from ConsumerLab, one of my favorite consumer websites, that details not only what makes dark chocolate healthy (flavanols), but what potentially makes it just a little bit toxic (the heavy metals lead and cadmium).

And apparently this isn’t new news. I’ve found stories talking about trace levels of heavy metals in chocolate going … read on

What are PSAPs?

PSAP stands for Personal Sound Amplification Product.

They are available at Target or Walmart or Amazon for a fraction of the price of a traditional physician-prescribed hearing aid.

BUT…they can’t actually be called hearing aids and they can’t be marketed as a treatment for hearing loss. That’s because they are currently not regulated as medical devices by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).… read on